" And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." - Genesis 2 : 7" And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. " " And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman ( Eve), and brought her unto man. "- Genesis 2 : 21 and 22.This is how the Christians view the making of mankind. Why their Lord God would take something that was not living ( Dust ) and form that into a human being in his image, is to me strange. Women in their religion were not even considered at first, and are actually only an after thought to make Adam feel less lonely. Their God actually made the beasts of the earth before making a female of the species according to the Bible. Women always seem to play " second fiddle" to men in the Christian, and for that matter, all monotheistic religions. The Asatru religion takes its mankind creation story from the Eddas, and the story is much different and more " equal " towards women. The Eddas say that it was the son's of Bor who created mankind : " Odin, Vili, and Ve were going along the sea shore when they found two trees, ( living breathing things ), and they picked them up and created mankind from them. The first gave them spirit and life, the second understanding, and the power of movement, the third form, speech, hearing and sight. They gave them clothes and names. The man was called Ask and the woman Embla, and from them have sprung the races of man who were given Midgard to live in. In the Bible it states that God created the firmament, and the water etc.... Once again this is done by some magical power because it does not tell us what the actual process was. Just that he " brought forth grass, the herb yielding seed etc..... In the Eddas however, we are told exactly how Midgard was created. " They, ( The son's of Bor ), took Ymir, ( after killing him ), and carried him into the middle of Ginnungagap and made the world from him. From his blood the sea and lakes; from his flesh the Earth; from his bones the mountains; rocks and pebbles they made from his teeth, jaws and those bones that were broken." They also took his skull and made the sky from it, and set it over the Earth, and under each of the corners they placed a dwarf. It goes on to say, " They used Ymirs eyebrows to build a stronghold, and called it Midgard. From his brains they made the storm threatening clouds. " The three Holy brothers then took the sparks and embers that were flying about after being blown out of Muspell, and placed them in the midst of Ginnungagap to give light to the heaven above and Earth beneath. They gave their stations to all the stars, some fixed in the sky, others that had wandered at will in the firmament were now given their appointed places and the paths in which they were to travel. And from this it is reckoned that man was able to measure the days and the years. In the Bible God creates everything from his divine will, and mankind in his image. The son's of Bor on the other hand use the materials at their disposal to create a living and breathing world for their first humans Ask and Embla. They don't just magically appear out of thin air as the Christian God makes things appear, but create them out of real resources that are made available to them. That is one of the " Creative Differences" between our two religions. I will leave you with not one, but two ancient creation stories. Mesopotamia :From The Epic of Creation: Tablet 1 ( Written over 4,000 years ago ) When skies above were not yet named Nor earth below pronounced by name,Apsu, the first one, their begetterAnd maker Tiamet, who bore them all,Had mixed their waters together,But had not formed pastures, nor discoveredreed - beds;When yet no Gods were manifest,Nor names pronounced, nor destinies decreed,Then Gods were born within them.Lahmu and Lahamu emerged, their names pronounced........ Egypt : Version A of " The History of the Creation of the Gods and of the World. "I am he who came into being in the form of Khepera,I became the creator of what came into being,The creator of what came into being all;After my coming many were the things that came into being,which coming forth from my mouth.Not existed heaven, not existed earth, not had been created the things of the earth, and creeping things in place. I raised them up out of Nu ( an abyss of water ) from a state of inactivity.Not found I a place I could stand wherein.I worked a charm upon my heart.I laid a foundation in Maa and I made attribute everything.I was alone for not had I spit in the form of Shu, Not had I emitted Tefnut,Not existed another who worked with me.I made a foundation in my heart my own,Then came into being the multitudes of things which came into being.......Glenn BergenGo with Odin's wisdom, Freyja's love and Thor' s protection !